Florida Vacation July 2008

Emma Kate with her sunglasses
Julie & Trey Brent & me Papaw & Maddox

My dad found this in my grandparent's motor home! We got a good laugh out of this.
Our family
Addison laying out!

Addi & Mommy

Papaw & the babies relaxin' in the motor home

Hanging out in the condo Hanging out at the pool
Preston
What a view!

I am just now getting around to posting about our Florida trip we took the week of July 19th. It was both great and exhausting. We drove in my grandparent's motor home with my parents. That was a great way to travel with the babies. We were able to change diapers, feed, and stretch without having to stop. The babies seemed to lose all sense of sleeping whatsoever through the night. Maddox woke up at 2, 4, & 6 one night! The babies were in the room with us and were in their pack-n-play together so I felt like I had to feed them every time they woke up so they wouldn't wake each other up. It was not good! (I am glad to say that since we have returned home I have both babies sleeping through the night now. It took several nights of two-hour long crying spells, but they are now sleeping 11 to 12 hours!) We stayed in a condo with Julie (my sister), Trey, her two kids, Ashley (Trey's sister), Adam, and Samantha. It was really nice! We spent most of our time by the pool, but made a few trips to the beach. We also went to Destin and Seaside for shopping and dinner a couple of nights. It was our first family vacation, and I look forward to many more.

6 months old

These awesome pictures were taken at our house by my talented friend Jen Harrell. Her link is under my Friends. She does such a great job!

ADDISON BLAKELY

I will start with Addison because she has been through a lot these past few weeks. I have to start at the very beginning. Because Addison and Maddox were in the NICU (due to prematurity) they both received head ultrasounds which is standard procedure for all babies in the NICU. Addison was found to have a Level 1 intraventricular brain hemorrage. The neonatologist told me to not worry that it is very common among premature babies and that they usually resolve themselves. Before we were discharged from the hospital they did another ultrasound and said that it was nearly resolved. So, I really tried not to worry too much about it or obsess over it. At her 4 month appointment I mentioned to the pediatrician that I was concerned with some of her gross motor skills such as her head control and not putting weight on her legs. She said not to worry too much about it right now and to give her until 6 months to "catch up" since she was born early. Well...6 months came on July 14th and she was still not putting weight on her legs and although her head control had gotten better it was still not great. So we went back to the doctor and this time she recommended a physical and occupational therapy evaluation and another head ultrasound. The head ultrasound came back completely normal with no bleed (thank the Lord!) but she will start getting some PT and OT. The pediatrician seems to think she is just lagging behind because of her prematuriy which has contributed to some muscle tone issues which is contributing to some of the delays. Anyways, she is such a happy baby and so much fun. Some of the great things Addison is doing at 6 months are

-grabbing her feet (she is obsessed with her feet, and they are almost always in her hands)

-grabbing and reaching for toys

-laughing when I "get her"

-smiling A LOT

-eating 3 meals a day (she eats anything I give her- unlike her brother)

-sleeping 9 hours a night without a bottle and then sleeping another 2 to 3

-taking good naps

-weighs in at 14 pounds, 8 ounces (she's a little thing)

-making me feel so blessed to call her my daughter

She is so content and so easy going. I love her so much.

MADDOX JAMES

What am I going to do with Mr. Maddox?! Some of the fun things he is doing at 6 months are

-almost sitting up by himself (he can do it for a few seconds and I know he's just a few weeks if not days away)

-fighting sleep STILL (I guess he doesn't want to miss something)

-still loving the swing but his new favorite thing is his exersaucer

-sleeping about 7 to 8 hours a night without a bottle and then sleeping another 3 to 4

-giggling A LOT (sometimes at absolutely nothing)

-throwing little tantrums

-grabbing and reaching for toys

-talking quite a bit (of course there are no words yet, but I swear he says Momma when he's in distress) :)

-eating 3 meals a day (he does not like anything green)

-weighs 18 pounds, 7 ounces (he may have started out small, but he's not now!)

-melting my heart

He has me (and Nana) wrapped around his finger, and I think he knows it!

Today I was just thinking and feeling as if Maddox and Addison could never know how much I love them. It is so deep and so true!